Various storage access systems have been developed that include an ability to sense data previously stored on a storage medium. Such storage access systems generally include circuitry and/or software used to process a sensed signal from a storage medium, and to process the sensed data in an attempt to recover an originally written data set. The data may be distributed across the surface of a storage medium in tracks, with encoded user data distributed across the tracks with intervening alignment information. Such alignment information allows for proper synchronization with the user data, but wastes room on the storage medium that could otherwise be used for storing user information.
Hence, for at least the aforementioned reasons, there exists a need in the art for advanced systems and methods for format efficient storage.